OCR Text |
Show FOR ARMY CUT ; MANY MILLIONS ARE CUT FROM APPROPRIATION BY BILL NOW BEFORE CONGRESS I Bill Reported by House Committee Provides for Material Reduction in Officers and Enlisted En-listed Men. Washington 'With provisions which, would necessitate reduction of the' size of the regular army to 115,000 j enlisted men and 11,000 officers, the j army appropriation bill, carrying ! $270,353,030.67, was reported Monday I by the house appropriations committee. commit-tee. The amount recommended for the, military and nonmilitary activities of the war department during the coming fiscal year is a reduction of approximately approxi-mately $116,000,000 from the total of the current year, and $S7,99G,OS0.SO less than budget estimates. As drafted by a subcommittee headed by Representative Anthony, Republican, Kansas, the bill would require re-quire the return to the United States by next July 1 of all troops stationed in China, 6500 men from Hawaii, about 2000 men from the Panama canal zone and all but 500 officers and men in the army of occupation on the Rhine. No limitation ia placed on the number num-ber of men to be maintained in the Philippines, the committee's report stating, however, that Secretary Weeks believes that under present conditions "some reduction" can be' made in the force there. The contemplated withdrawals, it nwum iguvo ivoo meu m 1118 Hawaiian islands and a like number' in the canal zone. The present actual strength of the army was given by the, committee as about 13,000 officers and 132,000 men, exclusive of 7000 Thilip- ' pine scouts. An appropriation of $27,635,200 is recommended for continuance of work on various river and harbor improvements, improve-ments, for which the chief of engineers engi-neers requested $43,000,000; $12,431,-000 $12,431,-000 for the air service against $15,-600,000 $15,-600,000 requested, and $21,130,200 for the national guard, about $9,000,000 less than budget estimates. The committee recommends $500,, 000 for the chemical warfare service, declaring that sum sufficient to provide pro-vide for a "minimum amount of development de-velopment work and training along lines compatible with present conditions," condi-tions," and for maintaining Edgewood arsenal in good condition. An appropriation appro-priation of $2,750,000 is recommended recommend-ed for supplies and equipment of the reserve officers' training corps, and $1,800,000 for civilian military training train-ing camps. The bill carries $7,740,000 for the ordinance department to meet, in addition addi-tion to other expenses, the cost of maintaining a skeletone force at ar-i senals "to keep alive the knowledge of the methods of manufacture." The amount carried in the bill for sea coast fortifications, the committee commit-tee reported, would not provide for any new projects, but would go entirely en-tirely for maintenance of existing works and for continuing the construction con-struction of a limited number of sea coast guns. The totals recommended for river and harbor improvements about $15,-000,000 $15,-000,000 less than the amount sought by the chief of engineers, is carried as a lump sum and projects on which work would be continued are not specified. spe-cified. None of the appropriations would go to new projects, however. The subsistence of the army, the committee recommended, would cost $16,550,000, approximately $13,000,000 less than last year's item, the decrease de-crease being brought about by a reduction re-duction to 3 cents per ration. |